Otto III of Germany

Otto III, Holy Roman Empire (June 980-23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 21 May 996 to 23 January 1002, succeeding Otto II of Germany and preceding Henry II of Germany.

Biography
Otto was born in June 980, son of Otto II of Germany and Theophanu, a princess of the Byzantine Empire. He was a member of the Ludolfingers, and he was crowned King of Germany in 983 when his father died on campaign against the Byzantine Empire and Emirate of Sicily in Italy. Otto had various regents, and his regent Henry II of Bavaria attempted to seize power for himself in 984; the German aristocracy did not support his claims, so his rebellion was put down. In 996, Otto claimed the titles of King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor, and he decided to reestablish imperial rule in Rome. He put down Crescentius the Younger in 996 and installed his cousin as Pope Gregory V, the first German pope. Crescentius rebelled again in 998 with Antipope John XVI as his candidate for the papacy, so Otto reconquered Rome and executed both of them. On Gregory's death in 999, he installed Pope Sylvester II as the new pope.

Otto also focused on reconquering the lands east of the Elbe River, which had been lost due to rebellions by Slavs on the eastern frontier of the Holy Roman Empire. He strengthened the empire's relations with Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary, and he supported missionary work in Poland while crowning Stephen I of Hungary as the first Christian king of his country. In 1001, a third revolt by Roman aristocracy forced Otto to flee the city, and he died of fever in 1002 while marching to reclaim the city. He would be succeeded by Henry II of Bavaria's son Henry II of Germany on his death, as he was childless; the Salian dynasty succeeded the Ottonians.